WET PLATE JOURNALS

In 1851, The wet plate collodion process was a photographic process used to produce a negative. The wet-plate collodion process is based on the light sensitivity of silver halides  (bromide and iodide) suspended in a collodion binder on  a glass support. The process had to be completed while  the collodion was still wet due to loss of sensitivity once  it dried, hence the name wet plate.

“Chata” Handmade Camera 16 x 20 in

Wet Plate Collodion 16 x 20 in.

Chardchakaj photographed Temple of the Emerald Buddha in 2018 as a comparison to the photograph by John Thomson in 1865. Both were shot from the same camera angle but in different era. The negative now belongs to Wellcome Collection Museum, Which is also the place where the portraits of King Rama IV and the King Rama V taken by John Thomson are displayed.

In 2018, Chardchakaj was invited by SOAS University of London to do a research and to lecture the academics from around the world about wet-plate photography in the era of King Rama IV and King Rama V, which was the pioneer era of photography in Siam.